A new document from the legal battle between the FTC and Microsoft alleges that the successor to the Nintendo Switch could be arriving in 2024. The Nintendo console debuted in 2017 and has been a big hit, but many have called for a new system more capable of running modern games.
The Nintendo Switch singlehandedly pulled the iconic company's reputation out of a pit created by the failure of the Wii U. The console, along with some of its massive early successes like Super Smash Bros. Infinite, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Super Mario Odyssey, all helped propel an aging developer back into gaming relevancy when many thought it could potentially be put to bed by its competitors. That wasn't the case, though, and Nintendo may be setting itself up launch the successor to the Switch, which a new Microsoft document says may be coming this upcoming year.
The potential confirmation of a 2024 Switch successor arrives via a document titled, "Defendants’ Proposed Post-Trial Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law" from the well-known legal battle between the Federal Trade Commission and Microsoft. Most of the 153-page document goes through various facts, definitions, and other details relevant to the FTC's attempt to block Microsoft from purchasing Activision Blizzard. Page 92 potentially offers a bit of insight as it reads, "Nintendo is expected to release the successor to the Switch as early as next year." This detail is given in reference to the competition between Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, stating the Switch is near the end of its life cycle whereas the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 are not.
This one line is potentially a bombshell, as it potentially gives the first real confirmation concerning a new Nintendo console that only had vague whispers before. It's worth noting that this information does not come directly from Nintendo and thus does need to be taken with a grain of salt. Microsoft does have a vested interest in keeping up with what's going on behind the scenes at Nintendo, though, given the competition between the two company's consoles, which makes it very possible the information here is accurate.
Many fans have been begging for an upgrade given the relatively low specs of the Nintendo Switch can cause major performance issues with many games, particularly the more demanding ones. If the new console is backwards compatible with Switch games, while having significant performance improvements to allow more of the library to run smoothly, along with just giving more options for high-performance titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Elden Ring to get Nintendo ports, it would very likely be popular.
Nintendo Switch is available everywhere.